iFixit 2023 Wrapped

Happy New Year! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [iFixit Wrapped 2023, with hand drawn bow and image of woman fixing a PC.]( Let's end the year with a triple celebration! Plus, the acknowledgement of several milestones from each department that makes up iFixit. We thought we couldn’t top last year’s first-ever Right to Repair wins and growing base of manufacturer allies, but each new year continues to prove that the repair revolution is only getting started. And 2023 was no exception! This year [iFixit turned 20]( iFixit Europe [celebrated its 10th birthday]( and we reached [100,000 guides]( on iFixit.com. From our advocacy work in passing Right to Repair legislation to publishing Community-contributed repair guides, we have a round-up of all the ways that iFixit got one step closer to helping everyone fix every thing. [Advocacy] 7 repair-related regulations passed worldwide! [Map of EU] In the EU - [Batteries directive]( User-replaceable batteries required in all portable devices and light transportation vehicles in 2027 - [Ecodesign for smartphones & tablets]( Parts, tools, and documentation required for all smartphones and tablets by 2025 [Map of the US with CA, CO, MN, and ME highlighted.] In the US - [Colorado]( First-ever agricultural bill - [Minnesota]( Broadest Right to Repair bill yet—covers basically anything with a chip - [California]( Requires that electronics and appliances >$100 have parts/tools/manuals available for 7 years - [Maine]( Owners & independent mechanics have access to auto telematics [Map of Canada with Quebec highlighted.] In Canada - [Quebec]( Planned obsolescence is now illegal in Quebec, just as it is in France [iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens testifying for Right to Repair at a congressional hearing.] Even beyond concrete legislation, there was lots of attention around Right to Repair issues in general. - Apple [officially endorsed]( California’s Right to Repair bill in a rare public show of political will (their actions suggest otherwise, more on that later.) - iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens testified for Right to Repair at a congressional hearing. - Google announced 10 years of Chromebook support, and Samsung announced 5 for their latest Galaxy-line Smartphones. - In July we learned that [emerging repair legislation could save vintage video games](. - Research revealed that 80% of consumers would give up their favorite brand for a more repairable one. Check out other stats and more on our [new Repairability resources](. [Tech News and Teardowns. Phone with notifications saying "Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple display."] TLDR: Hardware repairability wins were compromised by parts pairing. Let’s get the bad news out of the way first: - Apple continues to [threaten repairability with parts pairing](. It might be publishing repair manuals, and making spare parts available to buy, but those parts increasingly require a software handshake to allow them to work inside the device. Parts pairing is such an obstacle to independent repairs that we [retroactively dropped the iPhone's repairability score]( from 7/10 to 4/10. - Samsung’s latest foldable, the [Galaxy Z Fold5]( still isn’t dust-proof. However, the Galaxy S23 [added a pull-tab for battery removal]( making it easier and safer to remove than previous Galaxy models. - Apple launched a new, larger, 15-inch MacBook Air this year, which (despite its clever array of six speakers) once again [disappointed us with its battery placement](. [Hand holding soft serve ice cream cone in front of ice cream machine.]( [We tore down a McDonald's ice-cream machine]( (and even enjoyed fresh soft serve at the office for a few days). It didn't require heat guns or any other esoteric disassembly gear to disassemble. Instead, opaque software error codes and other legal shenanigans keeps them broken, so we’ve [teamed up with Public Knowledge]( to ask the US copyright office to make a DMCA exemption for ice-cream machines, so it won't be illegal to repair them yourself (and you won’t be turned away from your local McDonald’s when you really need that ice cream). [Gif of teardowns iFixit has done in 2023.] Now the good news: - Apple finally (kinda, almost) [ditched its proprietary Lightning connector]( with the iPhone 15, and the world kept turning. - The Framework 13 laptop continues to be a [dream-come-true]( can swap in this year's updated processors and more-efficient battery in just 20 minutes. - The PlayStation 5 "Slim” has some DIY-repair features like allowing users to [swap in a new optical drive]( although it [still requires internet-enabled parts-pairing]( to get it running. - VR repair is in our future: The [Meta Quest 3]( mixed reality headset is pretty unrepairable, albeit improving compared to the Quest Pro. Meanwhile, [the HTC Vive XR Elite]( proved incredibly repairable, with easy access to a pair of replaceable batteries. [Community. Five people at a table fixing things together.]( That’s you! In addition to reaching [100,000 guides]( our iFixit.com community hit some other highs in 2023: [Handshake icon. Nearly 200,000 new members joined, giving us almost 3 million members on iFixit!] [Broken phone icon with recycle symbol. More than 23,600 guides completed and kept those things from going to the landfill.] [Magnifying glass icon with question mark in the middle. More than 22,000 questions asked on our Answers Forum!]( [South Korean Flag icon. Added Korean to our list of supported languages, which means iFixit is now available in 12 languages!]( [Nintendo Switch with blue screen of death. A silly dead face is drawn over top.]( Folks are curious about troubleshooting their stuff—which is the first step to repairing something. But just in case asking questions isn’t your thing, this summer we launched 228 new troubleshooting pages written by repair professionals to help you out without you having to ask anyone and then wait. Here are some of our favorites: - [TV Has Sound But No Picture]( - [Nintendo Switch Blue Screen of Death]( [Fist holding wrench icon]( These troubleshooting pages have accounted for 148,000 people visiting the site from Google, perhaps for the first time. This means we've potentially helped nearly 150,000 people become fixers or fix a thing for the first time! [Collabs. Nokia phone repair set up.]( We’re especially excited about a 2023 collab that could finally fix Switch stick drift for good: [Gulikit joystick next to Joycon.]( We added the [Gulikit Hall Effect replacement joystick]( for the Nintendo Switch (compatible with both the Switch Lite, and the Joy-Cons of the dockable Switches). [Gif of all iFixit's collaborations of 2023.] We [expanded our Google Pixel offering]( and announced DIY repair options for 5 new manufacturers: - [Microsoft Surface]( - [Logitech mice]( - [HP laptops]( - [Nokia Phone parts]( - [Teamed up with Crucial/Micron]( to provide SSD storage upgrades [Tools. Highlighting the Repair Business Toolkit with tools spread out.]( We updated our [Repair Business Toolkit]( aka “a whole repair shop in one bag” With new tools including the [Anti-Clamp]( and [FixMat](. And we started selling the [iFixit Fast Charger]( our take on GaN (Gallium Nitride) charger, appropriately fit with a clear case so you can check out the innards. [Cluster of 3 small images of the Mini-Saber and Hacksmith Bundle.]( iFixit x Hacksmith Last but not least, we teamed up with Hacksmith to create an iFixit blue [Mini-Saber]( a butane-powered torch for Jedi and non-Jedi alike—perfect for anytime you need a lot of heat, fast. You can now [buy one on its own]( from our store! [Looking ahead. Man leaning down to clean his laptop with air blower.]( As we wrap up another remarkable year, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to you, our community. Your passion for repair makes all this possible. Looking ahead to 2024, we're set to tackle the challenges of parts pairing and appliance repairs, and it's your support and engagement that will keep us moving forward. Your engagement shows that no matter the complexity, we can tackle it head-on. Here's to conquering new frontiers in repair and continuing our journey towards a more sustainable world. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey. Together, we truly can fix any thing! Love, iFixit <3 [GUIDES]( [PARTS]( [TOOLS]( [COMMUNITY]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [TikTok]( Sent by [iFixit]( · [Customer Support]( · [Privacy Policy]( · [Web Copy]( You received this because you opted in to our email communications. If you have an iFixit account, you can [edit your preferences](. Update your [store and language](. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( iFixit, 1330 Monterey St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, United States